Apparatus for ventilating railroad-cars



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 R. J. WILSGN. APPARATUS FOR VENTILATING RAILROAD GARS.

Patented 1113112111891.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

B.. J. WILSON. APPARATUS FOR VRNTILATING RAILROAD GARS.

No. 448,401. Patented Mar. 1'7, 1891. y

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ROBERTIl J. wiLsoNm, or PITTsBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

APPARATUS FORA VENTILATING RAILROADBCARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 448,401, dated March 17, 1891. Application led November 25, 1889. Serial No. 331,510. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom, it may con/cern: 4

Beit known that I, ROBERT J. VILSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Ventilating Railroad-Cars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification.

This invention has relations to means for regulating the temperature and for ventilating railroad-cars, and `has for its object to provide an apparatus which shall automatically open and close the ventilators of the cars according as the temperature rises or falls below predetermined points.

This invention therefore consists in the combination, with the Ventilating devices of a car, of means for automatically operating the same.

This invention further consists in the combination, with the Ventilating devices of a car, of means whereby said ventilators are automatically operated by means of compressed air or other fluid.

This invention still further consists in the combination, with the Ventilating devices of a car, of an electrically-operated device whereby the ventilators are opened and closed by means of the action of compressed air Or other suitable fluid.

This invention still further consists in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts more fully described hereinafter and specifically claimed.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal view of a railroadcar with my devices in position thereon; Fig. 2, atop View, Fig. 3 a side view, and Fig. 4 an end view, partially in section, of the valves and their opera-ting devices.

A represents the chamber for compressed air attached underneath the car and primarily intended for operating the air-brakes. At any convenient point on the chamber A, I attach a pipe a, through which to conduct the compressed air or other iiuid to the apparatus for operating the ventilators. At the upper end of the pipe a is a T-coupling B, which is provided with branch pipes h b',

leading by suitable connections and branch pipes to the right and left hand ends of two cylinders C C. As these two pipes l) b are connected in exactly the same manner to their respective cylinders, a description of the connection `of one will suffice as a description of the other, and I shall therefore fully describe the construction of the pipe h, with its connections, valves, branches, dro. The pipe b extends a short distance from the coupling B, where it is attached to a T-joint B', and from thence by branch pipes c audc it leads to the left-hand ends of the cylinders C C. A piu or puppet valve D' is placed in the pipe b between the two points or couplings B B', its stein (Z being pivotally connected to the arm or lever E3 at e, as shown. The pipe bf is iitted with valve and branch pipes similar to the pipe b, but it leads to the right-hand end or opposite sides of the cylinders from the pipe b. Exhaust-pipes f f lead from the cylinders, as shown` to the valves F F', which are constructed and operated like the valves D D, and from thence to the exhaust-outlet G.

The valves D D F F are controlled and operated by means of the electro-magnets H I-I as follows: Upon a base I, to which the magnets H H are attached, are mounted t-wo posts 7c k', which act as supports and pivots for theA rocking shaft K, having arms Z Z Z2 Z3, the ends of these arms being under the levers E E E2E3, which operate the valves D D F F. Depending from the rocking lever K and between the magnets II II is an armature M, which is drawn toward one or the other of said magnets, and thereby rocks the lever K and operates the levers E E E2 E3.

The circuit through the magnets II H is from the battery by wire e' to the balanced thermometer, and from thence by way of contact-point 90 or 60 and wire 2 or 3 to one of the magnets and by wire et to the battery, the direction of the current through one or the other of the batteries depending on the position of the thermometer-wl e., whetherit is in contact with point 90 or GO. The cylinders G C are provided with pistons and piston-rods L L', which are attached directly to rod N, which operates the ventilators.

If some or all of the ventilators are operated vertically instead of horizontally, a bell- IOO crank o is provided, by which the movement of the piston-rod is conveyed to the vertical ventilators.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows: If, for instance, the temperature of the car is GOO, the thermometer will be at the point GO and circuit will be completed through the magnet I-I, the armature M will be attracted toward that side, and through the medium of the rocking lever K and the arms Z Z2 the valve-stems d d2 will be raised and the compressed air or other fluid allowed to enter left-hand ends of the two cylinders C C', forcing the pistons toward the right-hand ends of the cylinders and closing the ventilators. When the temperature rises to 90, circuit is completed through. the magnet M', and the armature being attracted thereto the valves D F are opened and the valve D F are closed. The fluid is thereby allowed to enter the other ends of the cylinder, a path being opened for the exhaust, and the ventilators are opened. A

It will be seen that the point at which th lvalves will be operated and the ventilators opened and closed can be varied at pleasure by the position on the periphery of the thermometer-dial in which the contact devices 60 and 90 are placed, and for this purpose I make these contact-points so that they can be moved as desired.

Vhile I have shown an operating-cylinder at both ends ofthe car, I do not wish to limit myself to this construction, as a single cylinder may in practice be suiiicient to open and close all the ventilators on one side of the car. Where but one cylinder is used on each side of a car, the device I have shown and described will be sufcient to operate the ventilators on both sides of the car; but if tWo cylinders are desired on each side of the car the same may be operated by adding additional branches to the pipe at the couplings on either side of the valves D D E E.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- In an apparatus for Ventilating ears, the combination of a compressed-air cylinder, a piston therein having its rod connected to the operating-rod of a ventilator, a compressed-air tank, a pipe leading therefrom and having separate branches leading to the opposite ends of the cylinder and provided with valves on opposite sides of the branch connection, a separate pipe communicating with the opposite ends of the cylinder and having an exhaust connection with valves on opposite sides thereof, a pair of electro-magnets in circuit with a circuit switching device, a thermostat operatively connected with the said switching device, and connections between the armature of said electro-magnets andthe several valves on the supply and exhaust pipes, all constructed and arranged substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 18th day of November, 1889.

ROBERT J. WILSON. WVtnesses:

HENRY C. EvnRT, A. A. CoNNoLLY. 

